


I Swear I Don't Ship Thorki

by Jongdaesdimple



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Awkwardness, Crushes, Fluff, Friendship, Jongin is kinda a fanboy, M/M, School Play, idk what I'm tagging sorry, thor the play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24780379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jongdaesdimple/pseuds/Jongdaesdimple
Summary: Jongin has been kinda a fan of Kyungsoo since he first saw him in a play and he also has the hugest crush on him. But he's awkward and has no idea how to talk to him. Enter Sehun, his best friend who signs him up for the school play which might end up being the best mess Jongin has ever accidentally gotten into.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56





	I Swear I Don't Ship Thorki

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone wondering about the teachers, Miss Hirai is Momo (twice), Mr. Lee is Taemin (shinee) and Mrs. Bae is Suzy (Miss A)
> 
> Also, can you tell I went on a marvel marathon in quarantine?
> 
> Why do I keep adding the f word to fics that could have been G rated? idk
> 
> Also warning there are spoilers from the first Thor movie in case people haven’t seen that yet but plan to... small group but consider yourself warned.

“I think you dropped this” Jongin heard a deep voice say, as he closes his locker while juggling all his stuff for his next class. 

“Huh?” Jongin says (oh so eloquently) before turning to face the voice. 

Jongin is greeted by a shorter guy with the most adorable heart-shaped smile ever and the cutest round eyes outlined by thick-rimmed round glasses. Kyungsoo Do. Jongin knows Kyungsoo very well even if they haven’t really had a chance to talk. He’s gone to all the school plays and school karaoke nights and he’s developed a bit of a crush. Ok, a lot of a crush. So seeing Kyungsoo smiling at him from so close makes Jongin’s brain completely turn off as he drops every single thing he’s holding and his plastic box pencil case explodes against the ground. 

“Oh my god I’m so sorry” Jongin says mortified. 

“Why are you apologizing?” Kyungsoo asks, rather confused. 

“Cause I um” Jongin says before quickly squads close to the ground to pick up all his pencils and other assorted school supplies. Some roll out of his reach so he awkwardly duck-wobbles over to grab them. “I made a mess.”

“But I scared you” Kyungsoo answers stacking Jongin's binder and books “you're going to English class? I remember reading these, really boring.”

“Ah ha yeah” Jongin says, picking everything back up and standing up again. “I hear 11th grade English is better than 10th.”

“Only a bit” Kyungsoo laughs “here’s the pen you dropped earlier.”

Jongin looks at the pen in Kyungsoo’s hand but doesn’t recognize it. 

“That’s not mine” Jongin says, still trying to reactivate his brain. 

“Oh my bad” Kyungsoo smiles before turning to talk to Jongin’s locker neighbour. 

Jongin slams his head into his locker. He’s such an idiot. He was given a golden opportunity to talk to Kyungsoo but all he did was drop his stuff and end the conversation before it even started. Way to make a good first impression. The bell goes off and Jongin groans. His teacher is going to be so pissed. 

~=+•+=~

“Do you have the answer to question 7?” Sehun asks Jongin while they’re going over their History homework in the study hall. 

“He was born in Sicily” Jongin answers. 

“Right” Sehun nods “and for question 8?”

“Did you do the reading?” Jongin asks quietly so their teacher doesn’t overhear them. 

“No, I was busy” Sehun answers. 

“It’s only a chapter” Jongin says somehow still surprised by his friend even though he’s been doing this since high school started. 

“I was trying to find the audiobook” Sehun smiles. 

“How are you passing? I’m actually doing all the work and I can’t manage to get more than a B+” Jongin says frustrated. 

“Passing is a lot easier than getting an A” Sehun responds “plus you’d probably do better if you studied before our quizzes instead of going to watch Kyungsoo do... whatever he’s doing nowadays.”

“Still just the karaoke nights, the play auditions haven’t opened yet” Jongin says quickly, those details are ingrained into his head “although I heard they’re going to have a little art exhibit and I bet he’ll submit something for that.”

“See this is what I’m talking about” Sehun starts “you act like he’s some celebrity and you’re his number one fan, he’s just a kid at our school. Actually a pretty nerdy kid, I don’t know why you can’t just go talk to him.”

“He’s a year older than us, when am I supposed to talk to him? During lunch? It’s not like we have class together” Jongin answers, finishing his English homework. 

“Lunch works” Sehun nods “Between classes is good too”

Jongin presses lips together remembering what happened earlier today before their English class.

“What is it?” Sehun says raising an eyebrow “I can tell you’re hiding something.”

“He talked to me today before 2nd period” Jongin admits “he thought I dropped my pen but I didn’t.”

“And I’m guessing you just told him that and he left?” Sehun sighs. 

“Not before dropping everything I was holding” Jongin smiles at his own awkwardness. 

“Right I’m going to give you some advice but it’ll cost you the answers to today’s chapter review” Sehun says. 

“Yeah fine just tell me” Jongin agrees, Sehun would have made him tell him the answers anyway. 

“You should audition for the play” Sehun says before picking up Jongin’s homework sheet to copy it. 

“I can’t do that, I don’t know how to act” Jongin whines. 

“You act all the time when you’re dancing. It’s no different” Sehun says, not looking up from his page. 

“Yes it is, it’s very different” Jongin replies “when I’m dancing I’m following the music and I’m just expressing how the dance feels. There’s no talking.”

“Whatever, just audition and pray they let you play a dancing tree or something and then you’ll have a reason to talk to Kyungsoo for real” Sehun finishes explaining his plan. 

“No way” Jongin refuses “I can’t talk to him.”

“Can you talk to me?” Sehun asks. 

“Well yeah, you’re my best friend” Jongin answers. 

“But at one point you didn’t know me and you talked to me” Sehun explains “so obviously you can do it.”

“No, I can’t cause I was never in love with you” Jongin narrows his eyes. 

“Ok see I just don’t believe that” Sehun scoffs. 

“You are no help” Jongin pouts. 

“I don’t know what you want me to say Jongin” Sehun replies “You’re hot, cute, amazing at dance and you have a great personality. There’s no reason not to talk to him, you’re a catch and he’ll see that if he gets to know you.”

“But what if I just stutter and trip over my own foot instead” Jongin frowns. 

“Then he should help you up” Sehun says, finishing the homework “he’s not worth your time if he’d leave you on the ground anyway.”

“I don’t know-“ Jongin starts. 

“And that’s exactly I’m no help to you” Sehun says handing the page back to Jongin “I give you stellar advice and you ignore me.”

“What if I just put anonymous notes in his locker instead?” Jongin suggests. 

“My bad I thought we were in high school” Sehun laughs “I didn’t realize you were 12.”

“Whatever” Jongin pouts again. 

~=+•+=~

It’s a Thursday night. Thursday nights are special to Jongin because it’s when Kyungsoo sings at karaoke. Until theatre practice starts anyway because Kyungsoo can’t do both. So tonight is actually the last time Jongin will hear him sing for a while. 

“Come on Nini we’re going to be late” Jongdae calls, twirling their parents’ car keys in his hand. 

Right, also his older brother sings at these too which is a great excuse for him to go every week. 

“I’m just putting my shoes on” Jongin gumbles shoving his feet into his pre-tied sneakers. 

“You know mom gets pissed when you do that right?” Jongdae laughs as he points to Jongin’s exposed heel. 

“It’s a style” Jongin responds. 

“Then buy slippers” Jongdae says, opening the door “You’re just destroying your perfectly good sneakers.”

“I’m improving them” Jongin says, pushing past his brother and walking out the door “They’re easier to use now.”

“Sure” Jongdae laughs, unlocking the car. 

Jongdae drives them both to school early enough for Jongdae to go backstage and get ready to set up. Jongdae usually ends up singing 3 or 4 songs and Jongin ends up sitting alone for most of the night but it’s all fine because he’ll get to hear Kyungsoo’s incredible voice. 

The other singers are pretty good too and the show is enjoyable but nothing is better than when Kyungsoo walks up on the stage. He looks incredible. Kyungsoo always dresses up so nicely for karaoke even though most people wear what they wore to school that day, Jongdae certainly does. 

Unlike earlier that day, Kyungsoo isn’t wearing his signature round glasses and even styled his hair up. It’s just the perfect mix between messy and neat and it looks so nice Jongin wants to run his hands through it. Kyungsoo’s also wearing fitted black jeans and a white and black striped dress shirt with a V neck a little deeper than Jongin is used to seeing on Kyungsoo. It’s not anything too scandalous and most people wouldn’t even notice but Jongin knows Kyungsoo’s style pretty well and this is a little much for him. It makes Jongin really interested to know what song he’ll be singing. 

Predictably, Chanyeol, their resident guitarist, comes up on stage with him. Kyungsoo usually likes to do acoustic or R&B covers so Jongin’s not surprised about that but once Chanyeol starts playing Jongin is a little surprised because the melody seems familiar and Kyungsoo usually sings things Jongin hasn’t heard before. 

“If I was your boyfriend...” Kyungsoo starts singing which instantly sends chills down Jongin’s spine. 

He’s not a fanboy. He’s not, Sehun over exaggerates. But Kyungsoo's singing boyfriend certainly does things to his heart. First of all, Kyungsoo sings it at least a thousand times better than Justin Beiber, Jongin’s definitely not biased, that's a fact. Also, Kyungsoo singing “If I was your boyfriend” might have Jongin picturing a few things, that image is a little shattered when Kyungsoo says “Hey girl” but still, it’s a lot. 

At one point Jongin swears Kyungsoo is looking at him but the crowd is very dimly lit so surely he’s just looking at a big blob of black. Especially with the bright lights pointed at him probably messing with Kyungsoo’s vision... but still... the eye contact has Jongin’s mind reeling a bit. 

Overall it’s a pretty great night, Jongdae sings really well too so they both go home happily. 

~=+•+=~

“I want everyone to go through all the cooldown exercises” Miss Hirai, Jongin’s dance teacher, says firmly “They are one of the most important parts of this class and I will deduct marks if I see you aren’t taking it seriously.”

Jongin and Sehun follow Miss Hirai’s instructions, they both know how important it is due to their many years of dance class. Jongin was honestly a little surprised when the school let him take dance as an elective given how many years of training he has but he’s not upset about it. He loves dance class and though it’s significantly easier than the classes he takes outside of school, it’s a fun way for him to just enjoy dancing without worrying too much. That being said Miss Hirai is being more critical with him and Sehun to make the grading fair. They’re graded based on effort, not capabilities. 

Once they finish all their cooldown exercises, they leave class even though the bell hasn’t rung yet because Miss Hirai is great and lets them out early. Jongin is particularly happy about it today because the sign-up sheet for the school play is being put up at lunch (which happens to be right now) and on that sheet, it will also say what play they'll be doing. Jongin and Sehun go their separate ways to get their change of clothes from their lockers, they don’t really like wearing their dance uniform all day. 

Once Jongin gets changed, he excitedly runs up to the posterboard to see what play they’re going to do. He reads the sheet and it says they’ll be doing Thor. Jongin wonders how they’ll perform it and he can’t wait to see it. Would Kyungsoo get the role of Thor or Loki? He fits Loki more than Thor but then again no one else in the school would be talented enough to play the lead role. Either way, he’s excited to watch it. 

Jongin scans the list of sign-ups to see who else might be in the play. There are some names he recognizes like Mark and Joy, a bunch of people he doesn’t know but Kyungsoo’s name isn’t there. Not yet anyway, of course, Kyungsoo will be signing up. He's the star of every school play.

What he doesn’t expect is for his name to be written bottom of the list. He briefly wonders if there’s another Jongin in their school before realizing the handwriting is very clearly Sehun’s. He must have signed him up right after leaving dance class, that little shit. Jongin takes an eraser out of his pencil case and starts to erase his name but it’s written in pen. 

“I haven’t seen you audition before” Jongin hears Kyungsoo say from behind him. 

“Oh I’m not-” Jongin stops to turn to Kyungsoo trying to think of a good excuse. 

“It’s always nice to have some more guys interested in theater” Kyungsoo smiles “Gets a little lonely.”

“Ha ha” Jongin blushes, having no idea how to tell Kyungsoo he’s not actually joining. 

“Do you mind?” Kyungsoo smiles politely asking for Jongin to step aside so he can sign the sheet.

“Go ahead” Jongin says, quickly stepping away from the page. 

“See you at the audition!” Kyungsoo smiles again brightly. 

Jongin just smiles back until Kyungsoo leaves at which point he runs straight for his best friend’s locker. 

“You signed me up for the play!” Jongin yells before lightly hitting the back of Sehun’s head “You asshole!”

“You needed a push” Sehun laughs “You should be thanking me.”

“No! I told you I can’t act!” Jongin says frustrated. 

“It’s a high school play not broadway, you’ll be fine” Sehun huffs “Plus I’m not going to physically force you to go, you could always just not show up to the auditions.”

“I can’t” Jongin grinds his teeth “Kyungsoo saw and he was so happy about it I couldn’t tell him I didn’t actually sign up.”

“Hey look at that my plan was even better than I thought” Sehun smiles “Kyungsoo is happy that you’re going, this is great news!”

“I’m gonna embarrass myself” Jongin whines. 

“You’re very expressive, just use that and you’ll be fine” Sehun says gesturing to Jongin’s current over-exaggerated pouting and whining “You have some time to prepare right?”

“Yeah it’s Friday night” Jongin answers. 

“Good, I’ll help you” Sehun nods “but right now I’m starving so let’s go eat.”

~=+•+=~

Jongin looks at his closet trying to figure out what to wear for his audition. He wants to look good because Kyungsoo’s going to be there but he also wants to look sorta casual since it’s just an audition, not a dance. He throws his leather pants back in, they are definitely not casual. Maybe just jeans and a plaid shirt? Or his teddy bear sweater, he really loves that one. But then Kyungsoo might think he’s just a little baby 10th grader and that’s definitely not what he wants. He wants to look mature. Should he wear a tie? No that’s too much... unless it’s not. 

“Jongin honey dinner is ready” Jongin’s mom says from across his door. 

“I’m busy!” Jongin yells back. 

“We have to leave in an hour, you need to eat now” Jongin’s mom replies.

Jongin sighs. Some light blue jeans and a loose pink sweater should be fine. It’s boring but it’s safe. 

“I’ll be down soon.” Jongin answers before getting dressed. 

Jongin rushes down the stairs and sits at the dinner table before quickly eating the spaghetti his mom made. 

“Jongin if you keep eating like that you’re going to choke” Jongin’s dad says frowning. 

“Are you nervous?” His mom asks “I’m sure it’ll be fine. You’ve watched so many of your school’s plays, I knew you’d want to audition at some point.”

“He’s probably going to stutter the whole time” Jongdae laughs. 

“Don’t pick on your brother” Jongin’s mom says in her most mom voice. 

“Jongin you’ll do great, don't pay attention to Jongdae” Jongin’s father steps in. 

“Where was this support when Jongin I’d never get first place in the talent show?” Jongdae asks annoyed. 

“Well you did get first place so it’s fine.” Jongin’s mom says placing a hand on Jongdae’s shoulder to comfort him. 

“Whatever” Jongdae sighs “good luck Jongin. Don’t practice your lines too loudly when you get them or I’ll throw your script out the window.”

Jongin just smiles before taking another bite of food. It’s weirdly comforting to think Jongdae is so sure he’ll get a part. 

After dinner Jongin and his mom get into their car 10 minutes late and Jongin just hopes these things aren’t too strict with time. Once they arrive at the school his mom pulls over the car. 

“When do you need me to pick you up?” She asks. 

“I don’t know” Jongin replies unbuckling his seatbelt “I’ll call you when I’m done.”

“Do you want me to go in with you?” His mom asks softly.

“No!” Jongin answers quickly before seeing shock on his mom’s face “I mean I’ll be fine alone. I’m not a kid.”

“Ok if you say so” She says as Jongin is already getting out of the car. 

Jongin runs into the school. If he runs fast enough he should get to the gym and only be 7 minutes late. He opens the door and immediately regrets it. Only the lights pointed at the stage are on but everyone still turns to look at him including the girl in the middle of her audition. 

“Sorry” Jongin waves awkwardly before sitting on one of the chairs in the back. 

“You can resume” He hears the teacher say. 

Jongin lets out a deep breath and pulls his legs up on the chair trying to make himself as small as he feels. His eyes go wide as someone walks towards him in the darkness. 

“Hey Jongin, I was starting to think you wouldn’t come” Kyungsoo says, sitting on the chair beside Jongin. 

“I was just late” Jongin says quietly before realizing Kyungsoo said his name “You know my name?”

“You wrote it on the sign-up sheet” Kyungsoo smiles. 

“Oh right” Jongin says softly. 

“I’m Kyungsoo in case you didn’t catch it when I wrote it” Kyungsoo replies. 

“I know who you are” Jongin answers automatically “I mean your name is always on the play posters”

“Didn’t think anyone looked at those” Kyungsoo chuckles and Jongin swears it’s the best thing he’s ever heard in his life, apart from Kyungsoo’s singing of course “So what part do you want?”

“Um” Jongin says, trying to think of an answer “Honestly I hadn’t thought of it.”

“That’s fine, my first time I didn’t care what I got either, I just wanted to be a part of it” Kyungsoo says. 

“What part do you want this time?” Jongin says, feeling a bit of courage. 

“Would it be ridiculous to say Thor?” Kyungsoo laughs. 

“Why would that be ridiculous? you should play the lead” Jongin says before realizing that might be a little weird to say “I-I mean I’ve seen you act once and you’re really good so um yeah.”

“I don’t really look the part though” Kyungsoo just laughs lightly ignoring Jongin’s awkwardness “I’m short and I’m not really willing to bleach my hair.”

“I’m sure they can get a wig” Jongin answers quickly “I don’t think height matters that much it’s more about the powerful presence Thor has.”

“You’d make a pretty good Thor” Kyungsoo says, nudging Jongin. 

“N-no” Jongin laughs while blushing, is Kyungsoo flirting with him? No, that’s not possible “I’m not looking to play a big part.”

“Well, you can play one of his friends then” Kyungsoo answers “They’re all tall and strong too.”

Jongin has no idea how to respond to that but luckily he doesn’t have to because Kyungsoo is called to the stage. Jongin watches as Kyungsoo walks up to the stage. Somehow Jongin didn’t even think about the fact he’d get to see Kyungsoo act today and he’s suddenly really excited. He’ll audition every year if it means he can see Kyungsoo up on stage. 

“What do you have prepared for us this time?” One of the teachers asks with an excited tone and Jongin is just as curious. 

“I’ll be reading for the role of Thor” Kyungsoo answers professionally “I picked scene 11.”

“Ok one second” The teacher says flipping through the script “Start when you’re ready.”

Kyungsoo pauses momentarily before looking up at the three teachers in front of him. 

“Loki! What are you doing here?” Kyungsoo asks. 

“I had to see you” The teacher replies, reading off the script. 

Jongin remembers this scene from the movie. It’s the one after Thor is interviewed by the government agents and Loki appears in the room using his magic to tell Thor their father is dead, even though he isn’t really but Thor doesn’t know that. Loki also tells Thor that he can never come home or a war will start. It’s a very emotional scene and Jongin is more than ready to see Kyungsoo act it out.

The scene continues as Kyungsoo reads his lines with the desperation Thor is clearly feeling in this scene as the teachers rather blandly read Loki’s lines. Kyungsoo’s emotions are so well portrayed when Loki tells them their father is dead, the shock and pain is clear on Kyungsoo’s face and in his tone of voice. Kyungsoo even sheds a tear which Jongin can see shining under the stage lights even from the back. Captivating doesn’t cover how well Kyungsoo performs the scene. If they don’t cast Kyungsoo as Thor they’ll severely regret it because Jongin’s certain no one else in their school can act that well. 

“This is goodbye brother” the teacher reads “I’m so sorry.”

“No, I am sorry” Kyungsoo replies sounding both hurt and sincere “Thank you for coming here.”

“Farwell” The teacher replies before putting the script down “Well I think we’ve seen more than enough, as always your performance was incredible.”

“Thank you” Kyungsoo smiles before wiping the tear off his face.

Kyungsoo walks off the stage and sits right back beside Jongin. Jongin has never felt more unworthy of talking to Kyungsoo than right now.

“I hope that wasn’t too dramatic” Kyungsoo says softly. 

“Are you kidding? that was incredible” Jongin says sincerely “I don’t even want to audition after that.”

“Please do” Kyungsoo begs looking at Jongin “I meant it, we really need more guys.”

“I probably won’t make the cut” Jongin says honestly. 

“Come on have a little faith” Kyungsoo smiles “They aren’t super picky.”

“Easy for you to say” Jongin scoffs “acting isn’t really my thing... I mean I want to try it but...”

“What is your thing?” Kyungsoo asks, saving Jongin from himself. 

“Dancing” Jongin answers “Mainly hip hop but I do some ballet too.”

“Really?” Kyungsoo asks “I didn’t take you for the type.”

“What were you expecting?” Jongin asks, genuinely curious. 

“I don’t know some type of sport” Kyungsoo answers “Baseball or Basketball maybe.” 

“Dancing is a sport” Jongin corrects a little offended. 

“Ok true” Kyungsoo smiles “I meant I kinda thought you were a jock. I was getting Troy Bolten “I’m good at sports but I want to do some stage stuff too” vibes.”

“No” Jongin laughs “not even close.”

“Dance is really cool though” Kyungsoo says “maybe you could show me sometime.”

“O-ok” Jongin says, sounding way too eager but he can’t help himself. Kyungsoo is so sweet and interested in him and it’s everything he’s ever wanted. Maybe Sehun was right, this is a good idea. 

“Jongin Kim” The teachers call. 

“Break a leg” Kyungsoo smiles as Jongin gets up out of his chair. 

Jongin walks up on stage and is suddenly very aware of all the lights on him. He’s completely used to it while dancing but he’s not here to dance. There’s no music to give him confidence, no years of experience to reassure him he’ll do well, there are only 3 people to judge him (he’s only just noticing one is miss Hirai) and Kyungsoo watching him closely. The pressure gets to him a bit and he doesn’t even notice when the teacher asks him if he’s ready. 

“Jongin?” Miss Hirai asks and Jongin snaps out of it.

“Yes sorry” Jongin answers “I don’t know what part I want and I’m um going to read the part of Thor in the scene where he’s talking to the enemies uh scene 7 I think.”

“Right” Another teacher answers before she starts reading the script “You’ve come a long way to die, Asagardians.”

“I’m Thor Odinson” Jongin replies too quickly and without the power it was meant to be said with. 

“We know who you are” The teacher replies before waiting a while for Jongin’s line. Eventually she nods to remind him his line is next. 

“Right” Jongin whispers “How did you- your people get into Asgard?” 

“The house of Odin is full of traitors” The teacher replies. 

“Do not dishonour my dad’s-father’s name with your lies!” Jongin yells weakly in a way that almost sounds like a question.

Jongin continues to stutter out the script making mistakes and sounding unsure of what he’s saying even though he practiced with Sehun all week. He’s just so scared, he’s worried he’s going to embarrass himself in front of Kyungsoo and ironically it’s that fear that makes him mess up. The more he reads the script the more disappointed he is with his performance. He wouldn’t cast himself in the play and he can’t see the teachers doing it either. 

“We’ll be in touch” One of the teachers says, smiling politely. 

Jongin nods but he knows they aren’t going to give him a part after that train wreck, most 10-year-olds could have read the lines better. Jongin walks off the stage and can’t even bear looking at Kyungsoo as he walks out of the gym as quickly as possible. 

“Jongin!” Jongin hears Kyungsoo yell as he runs out but he doesn’t look back. 

Jongin has no intentions of talking to Kyungsoo so he runs out of the school and down the block until he’s sure Kyungsoo won’t follow him. Shortly after, he calls his mom to come pick him up

“Mom, I need you to pick me up on stone road” Jongin says as his mom picks up. 

“Why there?” His mom asks. 

“I just felt like going for a bit of a jog.” Jongin lies. 

“Did someone pick on you?” His mom asks, worried. 

“No nothing like that I just-” Jongin starts “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Ok no worries” She answers “I’ll come pick you up but if you end up wanting to talk about it I’m always ready to hear ok?”

“Thanks” Jongin answers 

~=+•+=~

“Are you excited to see what part you got?” Sehun asks as Jongin takes his books out of his locker. 

“No because I didn’t get one” Jongin frowns “but I do want to see if Kyungsoo’s going to be Thor.”

“Don’t be so negative, I’m sure your audition wasn’t as bad as you think” Sehun replies. 

“Trust me it was” Jongin sighs. 

The boys walk over to the poster board where the parts are posted. When they walk over Miss Hirai is still pinning the page to the corkboard. 

“Jongin!” She smiles “are you here to see what part you got?”

“I got a part?” Jongin asks, surprised. 

“See for yourself” Miss Hirai smiles, stepping away from the page. 

“Loki? I got the part of Loki?” Jongin says with a mix of confusion and fear. He also notices Kyungsoo did get the role of Thor which makes him a bit happy for him. 

“Aye congrats I knew your audition wasn’t that bad” Sehun says patting Jongin’s back. 

“Well no it was, no offense” Miss Hirai responds “but I know you have potential, you do a fantastic job of conveying emotions when you dance. First time auditions never go well but that doesn’t mean you won’t do well in the play. With some training you’ll do amazingly I’m sure.”

“You have an alternate right?” Jongin asks, not believing that for a second. 

“You’ll do fine” She smiles before walking away. 

“You got a part! Nice going!” Sehun says enthusiastically. 

“That I’m going to ruin!” Jongin yells “now let’s get out of here before Kyungsoo shows up.”

Jongin starts pulling Sehun away from the corkboard and towards the cafeteria. 

“Why? Won’t it be nice to talk to him knowing you got a great character?” Sehun asks while Jongin continues to pull on him. 

“No, because I’m playing his brother” Jongin says quietly. 

“Ah yeah, that’s not great for the whole crush thing but it’s just a play.” Sehun says as they get in line for their food “it’s not like you’re really his brother.”

“Still.” Jongin pouts. 

“What did you want instead? To play his love interest?” Sehun asks. 

“I mean that would be great but Thor’s love interest is a girl” Jongin says sadly. 

“Well Kyungsoo isn’t actually Thor so stop being so mopey about this” Sehun says “you’re in a play with him which means you’ll have lots of time to talk, this is just a good thing! Don’t overthink it!”

“Maybe you’re right” Jongin says softly. 

“I know I’m right” Sehun laughs. 

~=+•+=~

The first play meeting thing is Thursday night after school and Jongin doesn’t know how to prepare himself mentally. According to the email he got, it’s just to meet all the cast members and do some line reading together to get a feel of the play but Kyungsoo will be there and he’s going to have to talk to him. Not that Jongin has been _avoiding_ him since he ran out after his audition but he’s been making sure he doesn’t run into Kyungsoo around school... ok he’s been avoiding him. He just doesn’t want to face him after the embarrassment. Maybe now that he got a part it’ll be less awkward...maybe. 

Soon enough it’s Thursday and Jongin is forced to face his fear. 

“Hey good luck” Sehun says patting Jongin’s back “Tell me all about it once you get home ok?”

“Yeah I’ll do that” Jongin smiles, taking the script out of his locker. 

Sehun leaves to head home while Jongin walks towards the room the meeting is held in. It’s just a regular classroom and Jongin was kind of expecting more but all it is is a bunch of chairs set up in a circle. He picks one at random and sits down. There are a few people in the room, including all three teachers but Kyungsoo hasn’t arrived yet. 

Rather quickly more people walk into the room and take their seats. No one sits beside Jongin which Jongin is a little offended about but it also means Kyungsoo can sit beside him, not that Jongin would love that or anything...

Finally, Kyungsoo walks in and Jongin almost chokes. Kyungsoo’s not wearing anything particularly amazing but Jongin has a thing for white t-shirts and skinny jeans. He doesn’t usually wear fitted shirts but this t-shirt certainly is and Kyungsoo looks so attractive. Plus he’s wearing his adorable round glasses and as handsome as he is without them, Jongin might have a thing for Kyungsoo in glasses. 

Jongin notices he’s been staring when Kyungsoo meets his eyes and smiles before sitting on the chair to his right. Now Jongin’s going to have to talk about running out after the audition and-

“Told you to have some faith” Kyungsoo says quietly “Loki’s a pretty great part.”

“Except he’s evil” Jongin says. 

“Not really he’s just misunderstood” Kyungsoo answers “He’s just really eager to impress and makes some mistakes, but that doesn’t make him bad. He’s trying and that should count for something.”

Jongin thinks there might be a double meaning to what Kyungsoo said but whatever it is, it goes right over his head. 

“Alright, now that everyone is here we’ll do some introductions” Miss Hirai says smiling “I’m Miss Hirai as many of you know and I’m one of the teachers helping out with this production.”

“I’m Mr. Lee and I’ll be helping as well” Mr. Lee says before taking a seat. 

“And I’m Mrs. Bae” Mrs. Bae says while giving a little wave “We’re all really excited to put on this play, Thor is certainly an interesting choice but we’re sure it’ll be a great one. Let’s start by introducing your name and your role, Joy you go first and then Mina and so on.”

“Hi I’m Joy and I’ll be playing Jane Foster” Joy says, so that’s who’s playing Kyungsoo’s- Thor’s love interest. She’s pretty, Jongin frowns slightly at the thought. 

He quickly goes through the script to see if there’s any sort of kiss scene. In scene 20 they “stair into each other's eyes lovingly” Jongin frowns reading that but continues to read through the script to find if there’s anything else. Unfortunately, he finds that there is one kiss scene right near the end. 

“I’m Kyungsoo and I’m playing Thor” Jongin hears Kyungsoo say which makes him close the script quickly realizing it’s his turn to talk. 

“I’m uh Loki” Jongin answers “Oh and my name is Jongin.”

After the introductions are over, they randomly pick a few scenes to try out as a group just to break the ice and Jongin really starts regretting coming. He fumbles on almost every line he’s told to read and the worst part is the majority of his character’s personality is shown through the way he acts, not the words he says, so Jongin needs to act well to be a good Loki. Why on earth did Miss Hirai think he could have this part! 

“How did the guard even know!” Mark says reading his lines. 

“I told him” Jongin replies quietly. 

“You’ll need to speak up a bit honey” Miss Hirai encourages and Jongin nods. 

“What?” Another student Jongin can’t remember the name reads off the script. 

“I told him to uh go to Odin after we’d left” Jongin replies “He should be... flogged-? Flogged for taking so long.”

“You told the guard!” Mark exclaims with energy, why wasn’t Mark cast as Loki? He’d be much better.

“I saved our lives” Jongin says, sounding more sad than anything else, he really doesn’t like reading lines in front of everyone when he knows they’re all wondering why he would get this part when he clearly doesn’t deserve it. “And Thor’s, I had no idea Father would banish him for what he did.”

“Loki” Mina says softly, but on purpose unlike Jongin “You must go to the Allfather and convince him to change his mind.”

“And if I do then what?” Jongin asks the words coming out extremely stilted “I... uh” Jongin pauses reading the words on the page but not quite wanting to say them “I love Thor more dearly than any of you, but you know what he is.” Jongin says very quickly, way too quickly. 

“Ok, I think we’ll call that a wrap” Mr. Lee says getting up “Great work guys, make sure to learn your lines and practice with the people in your scenes, we’ll have another little meeting in two weeks.”

Everyone gets up and helps put the chairs away and Jongin can’t be any happier that the meeting has come to an end. Even though he liked being beside Kyungsoo, he hardly looked at him because he had his head in the script the whole time. If anything this meeting was stressful, very stressful and he hopes the next one will be better but he doesn’t trust himself to learn how to act in that amount of time. 

“Kyungsoo and Jongin!” Miss Hirai calls out as the kids start to leave “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure” Jongin says quietly before walking over, if they’re going to take away his role he’d be more than happy about it, but why call Kyungsoo over?

“Jongin I know you’re struggling a little with the script and delivering your lines” Miss Hirai says and Jongin agrees but he’d rather his crush wasn’t here for this conversation “So I think Kyungsoo should help you out, I know you’ll be wonderful, you just need some help.”

“Are you sure-” Jongin starts but he’s cut off by Kyungsoo. 

“I’d love to help him” Kyungsoo smiles. 

“Great” Miss Hirai smiles. 

“Are you busy after school?” Kyungsoo turns to ask Jongin.

“Uh not usually” Jongin answers still in shock of what just happened “I’m busy on Fridays and Mondays.”

“Tuesday to Thursday we can practice then” Kyungsoo says very matter-of-factly “Can I get your number?”

“My what?” Jongin asks, hearing a question he never thought he’d hear from Kyungsoo. 

“Your phone number” Kyungsoo laughs “So we can plan the practices.”

“Oh right” Jongin says, taking out his phone. 

They exchange numbers and walk out of the room together. 

“Do you need a ride home?” Kyungsoo asks as they walk to the front of the school. 

“Oh I was going to get my mom to pick me up” Jongin says a little embarrassed, he’s only 15, he doesn’t have a real licence yet.

“I can drive you if you want” Kyungsoo smiles. 

“You have a car?” Jongin says in shock. 

“No” Kyungsoo laughs “I just borrowed my parents’ car.”

“Uh yeah, ok then I’ll tell my mom” Jongin smiles.

Jongin feels a little weird to be in Kyungsoo’s car, not because there’s anything wrong with Kyungsoo’s driving but just because he’s reminded that there is a tiny bit of an age gap. It’s just a year but Kyungsoo can drive alone and Jongin hasn’t even been behind the steering wheel. He wonders how many other things Kyungsoo can do that Jongin can’t. He feels kinda like a kid that Kyungsoo is just taking care of. He doesn’t really like the feeling. 

“Is this it?” Kyungsoo asks as the GPS announces they’ve arrived. 

“Yeah” Jongin smiles unbuckling his seatbelt “Thanks for driving me home.”

“It’s really no trouble, I don’t live far from here” Kyungsoo smiles back. 

Jongin doesn’t quite know what to say, is he supposed to hug him? No that would be weird... maybe a highfive of appreciation? Jongin just laughs a bit before walking away before he does anything stupid. He walks up to his house and unlocks the door before taking a deep breath. 

“Who’s he?” Jongdae smirks leaning on the wall near the front door “You had a date?”

“No, oh my god he just drove me home from theater practice” Jongin says trying to leave but his brother just follows him. 

“And why’d he do that?” He laughs “Was he offering that to everyone?”

“No, he’s just-” Jongin says, not quite understanding it himself “He’s a friend.”

“Uh huh” Jongdae says not buying it “A friend you’ve never mentioned before but he’s driving you home. You probably joined that play just to see him huh?”

“Shut up” Jongin says, running up the stairs toward his room.

“So when are you going to introduce him to mom and dad?” Jongdae says running up after him. 

“Shut up!” Jongin yells before running in his room and closing the door. 

~=+•+=~

“So you have a date with Kyungsoo” Sehun says, poking his best friend. 

“It’s not a date” Jongin answers, packing his backpack “We’re just going to the park so he can help me be a better actor.”

“And that’s why you wore your favourite sweater?” Sehun teases pointing at the teddy bear on Jongin’s chest. 

“I want to look good” Jongin mumbles “and it’s soft.”

“Oh look who’s coming over here” Sehun sings before stepping away from Jongin “Bye dude have fun!”

“Sehun!” Jongin whisper-yells at Sehun as he tries to leave Jongin alone with Kyungsoo. 

“Bye~” Sehun laughs while walking away. 

“Are you ready?” Kyungsoo asks, getting Jongin’s attention. 

“Yup! Yeah ready!” Jongin says with fake enthusiasm as he holds up his packed bag. 

“Great, let’s go” Kyungsoo smiles. 

They walk out of the school together without saying much but once they start walking down the street away from all the other students Kyungsoo speaks up. 

“Is there a scene you want to start with?” Kyungsoo asks. 

“Maybe the one we read during the meeting?” Jongin says before realizing they read quite a few. “I mean the last one.”

“That’s probably a good place to start” Kyungsoo nods. 

Within a couple of minutes, they reach the park and take out the script to start reading. 

“I told the guard” Jongin says into his script. 

“Look at me when you say it and make sure to project your voice” Kyungsoo directs “You can say it softly because that works for this but it still needs to be loud enough for everyone to hear.” 

“I told the guard” Jongin says again but this time he looks at Kyungsoo and tries to say it louder. 

“Ok that’s not bad” Kyungsoo nods. 

“I told him to go to Odin after we’d left” Jongin reads his next line with little to no emotion. 

“See here, Loki is telling his friends that in a way he betrayed them but to protect them” Kyungsoo explains “So that feeling needs to come across, you need to say it like you would if you hurt your friend but only because it was for their own good.”

“I told him to go to Odin after we’d left?” Jongin says again, pretty much exactly the same way but this time he just sounds more unsure of the line he’s saying. 

“Do you have any idea why it’s so hard for you to read your lines?” Kyungsoo asks “I hope that doesn’t sound insensitive.”

“No it’s fine uh I think it’s just because I don’t know what I’m doing” Jongin answers “It feels weird to talk in front of so many people.”

“Well right now you’re just talking to me” Kyungsoo answers with a soft smile. 

Jongin has to stop himself from saying how that’s actually worse. 

“I just don’t know how to act” Jongin answers sadly.

“But you know how to perform, right?” Kyungsoo asks “That’s why Miss Hirai picked you.”

“Yeah but it’s not the same” Jongin answers. 

“Show me” Kyungsoo says. 

“What?” Jongin asks, confused.

“Show me how you preform” Kyungsoo answers. 

“Um ok” Jongin says, feeling a little weird.

He pulls out his phone and looks at the playlist full of songs he knows the choreographies to. He’s not quite sure what song to pick but if Kyungsoo wants to see a performance, there’s nothing better than Deep Breath. He looks around the park to make sure there aren’t too many people around before awkwardly getting on the ground to start the song. He hits play and immediately his awkwardness disappears. 

That’s the thing Jongin has always loved about dance, he always knows exactly what to do so he doesn’t have to question whether what he’s doing is right or wrong. It takes all the guessing work out of it. Once the music starts all he has to do is follow the very precise choreography he’s learned. He feels the music and expresses it. He immerses himself fully into the performance forgetting Kyungsoo is even there. 

After the music ends though his fear returns as he’s reminded of who exactly his audience was. 

“That was incredible” Kyungsoo says quietly, seemingly at a loss for words. 

“Yeah?” Jongin smiles, happy to have that effect on Kyungsoo after the countless times Kyungsoo has done that to him. 

“Really” Kyungsoo nods “I haven’t- uh- well I don’t really watch dance but I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“The spins are ballet but the rest I learn in contemporary dance class” Jongin explains “I used that choreo for a project in dance class.”

“Well, it was really good” Kyungsoo answers “And your facial expressions were amazing, I know exactly what Miss Hirai was talking about. You’ll be a great Loki.”

“Not if I keep stuttering out all my lines” Jongin frowns. 

“We just need to find a way to translate your dance performance into the play” Kyungsoo says clearly thinking about how they would do that. 

“My friend Sehun said I should be a dancing tree” Jongin answers and Kyungsoo bursts out in laughter, a really deep amazing laughter and Jongin swoons slightly just hearing it. 

“I don’t know about you but when I watched Thor I didn’t see any dancing trees” Kyungsoo says, still laughing. 

“We should have done Guardians of the Galaxy” Jongin says “I would have been an incredible Groot.”

“You know what, I think you’re right about that” Kyungsoo agrees “But you’ll be a great Loki too. Would it help if I said the lines and you repeated them?”

“Maybe” Jongin nods. 

They keep going over the same few lines over and over until Jongin says them with the same energy Kyungsoo does. The repeating idea seems to work but it does take a while for Jongin to get it right and he’s not sure he’ll remember it in a few days but it is a start. 

~=+•+=~

“Sehun, help me learn my lines” Jongin begs as they leave their hip-hop dance class. 

“Isn’t that what you’ve been doing with Kyungsoo?” Sehun asks. 

“Yeah but I need to impress him and if I have the lines memorized he’ll be really proud” Jongin answers. 

“Proud? You want him to be proud?” Sehun asks “How about instead you just ask him out and save yourself the trouble of learning all this.”

“You’re the one who signed me up for the play!” Jongin yells getting annoyed. 

“I didn’t think you’d get one of the main roles!” Sehun answers “Plus you were supposed to use the play as a way to get closer to Kyungsoo but you’re just reading lines!”

“I am getting closer to him, I found out his favourite colour is black and he’s a dog person” Jongin smiles “and that’s why I want him to see how dedicated I am.”

“Fine, I’ll help” Sehun sighs “but you really better ask him out soon.”

“I’ll do it Tuesday night after our practice.” Jongin smiles “So are we going to my house?”

“Yeah yeah” Sehun rolls his eyes. 

Sehun and Jongin walk back from class since it’s not too far from their houses. After 15 minutes, they get to Jongin’s house and start reading the lines. Jongdae is out so they practice in the living room knowing he won’t come and bother them. They work on the lines for a while despite Sehun reading everything like he’s annoyed (because he is.) 

“Thor, stop and think we’re outnumbered” Jongin says his line seriously, a huge improvement from earlier this week. 

“Isn’t that your only line in this scene?” Sehun says looking through the pages for the highlighted parts “why am I here?”

“Because I still need to react to the other lines so read them” Jongin says pointing at the script “plus I talk later, it’s on the next page.”

“Listen Jongin, I think we’ve done enough” Sehun says, putting down the script. 

“We’ve done like 2 scenes” Jongin says, shaking his head. 

“Yeah but you made us do them like 10 times, you know the lines” Sehun sighs. 

“I don’t feel comfortable with acting until I know exactly what to do because I’ve done it 100 times” Jongin explains before smiling “Kyungsoo figured that out for me.”

“I’m sure he’s a very good teacher but let’s go over your plan for asking him out” Sehun says “cause apparently you won’t feel comfortable with it unless you do it 100 times.”

“You have a point” Jongin nods “100 might not be enough though I’m probably still going to mess up.”

“He’ll find it cute, it’s fine” Sehun waves it off “as long as you put enough words together for him to realize you’re asking him out, you’re good.”

“I don’t want to say it all awkwardly!” Jongin pouts. 

“Well you can’t really change who you are” Sehun answers “and that’s fine Jongin if Kyungsoo likes you as a person, then he won’t have a problem with it.”

“What if I wrote it on my script” Jongin suggests “that way I can just memorize it like my lines.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea” Sehun nods “ok well let’s figure out what you want to say.”

The boys stop practicing and instead focus on what Jongin is going to say. They make sure it’s not too fanboyish while still mentioning how much Jongin cares which is a bit of a feat because (in Sehun’s opinion) Jongin is absolutely a fanboy, if you can say that about someone you’ve gotten to know. 

“Ok read it” Sehun says once they’re done. 

“Kyungsoo, I really appreciate all the work you’ve put into helping me with the play” Jongin starts “I’ve liked you for a little while but since I’ve gotten to know you better my feelings have only grown stronger. You’re talented, friendly and great to be around. I really admire you and I was hoping you’d like to go out sometime.”

“You didn’t even stutter, see?” Sehun smiles. 

“I feel like this is more dramatic than I thought it was” Jongin says looking at the words on the page “I mean it’s all true but it’s still like...”

“Something out of a play?” Sehun asks. 

“Yeah” Jongin replies. 

“Well you could always just tell him “hey Kyungsoo I like you, maybe we should go on a date” instead” Sehun says “it would probably seem more normal.”

“I-”

“Jongin supper’s ready!” His mom announces “Is Sehun staying?”

“Do you want to?” Jongin asks his friend. 

“I’d love to!” Sehun yells loud enough for his mom to hear. 

~=+•+=~

“What scene do you want to go over today?” Kyungsoo asks, getting Jongin’s attention as he packs his backpack. 

“Uh, I was thinking the big fight scene between Thor and Loki” Jongin answers. 

“Really?” Kyungsoo smiles “we haven’t learned that one yet.”

“I’ve been doing a little practice alone” Jongin smiles back shyly. 

“Well I’d love to see it” Kyungsoo nods “Do you want to go over to my place today? My parents aren’t home.”

“O-ok” Jongin says as his heart starts racing. 

No matter how many times he’s practiced with Kyungsoo he still hasn’t gotten used to their friendliness. Anything that Kyungsoo says that could be misunderstood as something but friendship always makes Jongin either stutter or blush or just freeze up. When they’re practicing lines it’s usually ok because he’s focused on that but before and after when they talk about other things Jongin becomes hyper-aware of his feelings and of Kyungsoo. His smile is something that Jongin will never not react to. It’s so bright and wonderful and the way his eyes crinkle makes Jongin’s heart want to burst. 

There are other little things that Jongin started to notice that never see when Kyungsoo was performing. Like the way he’ll push up his glasses or the way he reacts when he messes up a line (which is a cute little lalala before he says it again). All of these details just make Jongin fall for Kyungsoo even more. 

Turns out Kyungsoo doesn’t have the car today so they take the bus. Jongin wasn’t sure if they would sit on the same bench but Kyungsoo pats the spot beside him so Jongin quickly sits down. 

“Do you want to listen to music?” Kyungsoo asks. 

“Sure” Jongin says before reaching for his phone. 

When he turns back he notices Kyungsoo is handing him on of his earbuds. 

“Is R&B ok?” Kyungsoo asks. 

“I love it” Jongin smiles thinking of all the amazing R&B covers Kyungsoo has performed at karaoke nights. 

Jongin already knows a lot of the songs from what Kyungsoo has sung and he has to say, Kyungsoo does a better job. He might be a _bit_ biased but there’s no debate that Kyungsoo is at least as good at these artists. 

Eventually, they get off at Kyungsoo’s stop and walk into his home. It’s nice, really cozy feeling and Jongin hopes he’ll be invited over more often. Two little poodles walk over excitedly but they stay a foot away from Jongin. Jongin’s dogs are way more excitable and would be all over a new guest. 

“The gray one is huchu and the black one is meokmul” Kyungsoo explains before giving them both little pets “they’re friendly if you want to pet them.”

“Yes!” Jongin yells out excitedly before approaching them. 

Once Jongin starts to pet them they both walk closer to him and start licking his hand. They seem to be as well mannered as Kyungsoo and that makes Jongin laugh a little. 

After the little petting session with the dogs, the boys sit on a couch in the living room and take out their scripts. But the black little poodle jumps up on the couch too and Kyungsoo smiles before putting his script down. 

“Hi Meokmul” Kyungsoo laughs lightly “she just wants a bit of attention but I’m sure she won’t bother us while we’re practicing.”

“That’s fine” Jongin smiles looking at the cute little dog. 

“Hi” Kyungsoo says softly in his amazing deep voice before giving the dog a little kiss on the head “I love you.”

“Hnnnng I wanna be a dog so fucking bad” Jongin whines quickly to himself. 

“What?” Kyungsoo says turning his attention to Jongin before Meokmul jumps off the couch. 

“Nothing” Jongin says, doing his best not to blush “Let’s do scene 23.”

“Sure” Kyungsoo agrees, flipping through the pages “Start with my line?”

“Yeah” Jongin nods. 

“Why have you done this?” Kyungsoo asks, reading off the script. 

“To prove to father that I am a worthy son!” Jongin spits out with anger he’s had trouble conveying in the past “When he wakes I will have saved his life. I will have destroyed that race of monsters and I will be the true heir to the throne!”

“You can’t kill an entire race” Kyungsoo reads with passion. 

“Why not?” Jongin asks before laughing slightly “what is this new found love for the frost giants? You could have killed them all with your bare hands.”

“I’ve changed” Kyungsoo responds seriously. 

“So have I” Jongin says in character before switching out “and then I hit you with my staff... Now fight me.”

“And you hit me again” Kyungsoo smiles out of character. 

“I never wanted the throne!” Jongin yells going back to the script “I only wanted to be your equal.”

“I will not fight you brother!” Kyungsoo yells back. 

“I’m not your brother” Jongin says, angrily. 

The boys finish the scene with the same intensity and skill. With the occasional break for narrations. Jongin watches Kyungsoo’s expressions carefully but all he can see is Kyungsoo’s emotions as Thor. He was hoping he’d see that Kyungsoo was proud but of course Kyungsoo is too good of an actor to let any of his real emotions bleed through. 

“And then I die” Jongin says, putting down the script.

“For now” Kyungsoo smiles. 

“I doubt we’re going to do another Thor play where I come back” Jongin smiles back. 

“Your acting was really good” Kyungsoo says softly “You’ve really improved, you’re probably better than Mark now.”

“Really?” Jongin asks, smiling. 

“Yeah it was really believable” Kyungsoo smiles “I could really see you as my younger brother.”

“Oh” Jongin says, the smile fading from his face. 

That doesn’t feel good, in fact, it feels really bad and Jongin’s heart pangs uncomfortably in his chest. He does _not_ want to be Kyungsoo’s little brother, that’s pretty much the last thing he wants.

“You know Loki and Thor aren’t actually related biologically” Jongin rambles out “So it’s not like it would be ince-”

Jongin shuts himself up before he says something worse before quickly putting his stuff away and getting up. 

“Well that was good see you at the meeting” Jongin says getting up. 

“Wait-” Kyungsoo says but Jongin is already leaving. 

Jongin politely waves and fakes a smile before leaving and running out. Luckily, like Kyungsoo said, he doesn’t live far from Jongin’s house so Jongin ends up running home. He’s a little tired when he gets home but it’s still better than facing Kyungsoo. He pulls out his phone to call Sehun but he’s already got a bunch of texts. From Kyungsoo. 

**Kyungsoo:** Hey sorry if I scared you or something 

**Kyungsoo:** I really don’t care if you ship Thor and Loki 

**Kyungsoo:** I mean it’s a little weird but I wouldn’t stop talking to you because of it 

**Jongin:** I don’t ship them I don’t know why I said that 

**Jongin:** Can we just forget about it?

**Kyungsoo:** Sure

**Kyungsoo:** Are you still ok with practicing tomorrow or did you just want to meet at the meeting like you said 

Jongin decides not to respond to that just yet. Jongin sighs, it doesn’t fix everything but at least Kyungsoo still wants to talk to him, even if Jongin’s not sure he’s ready to. 

“Sehun” Jongin says once Sehun answers his call. 

“You need another friend” Sehun answers “I can’t always take your calls. I was about to take a shower. Anyway, I assume this is about Kyungsoo?”

“He called me his little brother” Jongin says “Not as part of the script.”

“Oh yikes” Sehun says before pausing to think “well you’ll just have to show him you’re not.”

“What do you mean?” Jongin asks. 

“You’re seeing him tomorrow right?” Sehun asks. 

“Maybe” Jongin mumbles. 

“When you do make sure you show him a mature side of yourself” Sehun says “oh and make sure you look really hot so he'll have no choice but to realize you aren’t his baby brother.”

“How?” Jongin asks. 

“Last year's recital outfit, wear that” Sehun says “and style your hair a bit, it’s not like it’s hard for you.”

“You want me to go to school in leather pants?” Jongin asks “That’s ridiculous I can’t do that!”

“Fine wear your black skinny jeans instead” Sehun sighs “It’s the same thing really.”

“I don’t know...” Jongin starts. 

“Jongin do it.” Sehun says firmly “Have I been wrong? Was the play a good idea?”

“Ok fine I’ll do it” Jongin grumbles. 

“Great, now I’m gonna shower bye” Sehun says before hanging up the phone. 

Jongin looks down at his phone and opens his conversation with Kyungsoo. 

**Jongin:** I’m ok with practicing tomorrow

**Kyungsoo:** Great!

~=+•+=~

“Brother please” Jongin pleads softly before waiting for Kyungsoo’s line “Kyungsoo?”

“Huh?” Kyungsoo says before blinking a few times “Right, so I reach out but you’re an illusion and I say: Enough! And put my hammer on the real you so you can’t get up.” 

“Look at you, the mighty Thor, with all your strength and what good does it do you now huh? There’s nothing you can do!” Jongin reads before waiting for Kyungsoo to read the next part but he doesn’t “Kyungsoo, are you feeling ok?”

“Yeah I’m just a little thrown off” Kyungsoo says “Are you busy after this?”

“What?” Jongin asks before looking down at his clothes. Skintight black jeans and a loose white button-up with quite a few buttons popped. Kinda looks like he should be going out, not practicing lines. “Oh right, nah I just felt like wearing this.”

“I didn’t even know you had anything like that” Kyungsoo says “Jongin you wear teddy bear sweaters every day, it’s a little weird to see you like this.”

“Sometimes I like to dress up” Jongin smiles slightly knowing Kyungsoo probably doesn’t see him like a little brother anymore “is it a problem?”

“No” Kyungsoo says clearing his throat “of course not. It’s just- nevermind.”

“It’s your line” Jongin says, still smiling.

“Right” Kyungsoo smiles before they continue reading. 

They finish the scene and read a few more, without their scripts to practice. They forget the lines occasionally but for the most part, they both have all the lines from their scenes together memorized. An hour passes and soon their practice time together will end which always makes Jongin sad enough though he knows they’ll do this again tomorrow, well not tomorrow actually because they have a meeting with the whole cast, but next Tuesday. 

“I’m a little worried about the meeting” Kyungoo admits after they finish another scene “I know all the scenes we’re in together but I have been neglecting the other scenes a bit.”

“I don’t think they assume we’ll have everything memorized yet, there’s still a while till we perform.” Jongin says trying to reassure Kyungsoo “Plus I could help you by playing the other characters. What scenes are you most worried about?”

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to go over everything tomorrow, we usually do during the second meeting.” Kyungsoo explains “It’s sweet that you want to help Jongin but it’s getting late and you wouldn’t want to help with the scene I’m most worried about.”

“Why not?” Jongin asks. 

“It’s the one right before Thor goes back to Asgard” Kyungsoo says “you know the one where Thor and Jane kiss?”

“I could still-“ Jongin says before cutting himself off “You’re doing that tomorrow? I mean that’s kind of soon don’t you think?” Jongin asks, trying to keep his voice from getting too high. 

“It’s not that big of a deal” Kyungsoo says “It’s just a kiss.”

“Yeah but it’s that kind of uncomfortable for everyone one else in the room? PDA is really weird and we’ll all have to stay there and watch. I just think it’s not really something that’s even necessary at all. No one in the audience needs to see it either honestly.” Jongin sputters out without even thinking “If you and Joy want to do that on your own time, that’s fine- well no, not really cause I think I heard she was in a relationship or something like that so maybe kissing her is actually like cheating and you shouldn't do it at all. It’s just going to make everyone upset and it’s just all-around a bad idea.”

“Jongin what are you saying?” Kyungsoo asks seriously. 

Oh shit. Jongin did not mean to say that at all. That was _bad_. 

“Oh uh” Jongin fumbles “It’s just that my friend really likes you so um I just uh- I don’t want to see him hurt.”

“Your friend has a crush on me?” Kyungsoo smiles softly “which friend?”

“Sehun” Jongin answers mentally punching himself for being so stupid. Sehun is going to kill him when he finds out he said that “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“I won’t tell him” Kyungsoo says “but I’m not straight if that’s what you’re worried about and Joy has been in a relationship for 2 years, I’m not interested in her.”

“You’re not?” Jongin says feeling a small gleam of hope. 

“No” Kyungsoo smiles “So maybe you could help me get to know him.”

“How?” Jongin asks. 

“You could tell me about him and I’ll see if he’s my type” Kyungsoo says softly “not now because it’s almost supper time but maybe another time? I know you said you’re busy after school on Friday but are you busy all night? We could get dinner together or something.”

“Uh”

~=+•+=~

“Jongin you’re an idiot you know that right?” Sehun yells after hearing the story “Not only did you not ask him out like we planned but you told him _I_ liked him? Why would you tell him I liked him! You should have just confessed!”

“I panicked!” Jongin yells back.

“Honestly you should have at least told him you were ok with practicing as the role of Jane.” Sehun says leaning back in his chair. 

“Sehun and Jongin!” Their teacher yells from the front of the class “Are you two working on the problems.”

“Yup!” Sehun answers back quickly before holding up the worksheet “See”

“Well do it with less yelling” She says before going to help a student. 

“I wouldn’t want our first kiss to be because we were playing our roles” Jongin pouts “and now I have to see him kiss Joy after this class ends.”

“She’s dating someone” Sehun deadpans. 

“So? I still don’t want to see that!” Jongin says getting upset.

“Shh” Sehun sushes “we’re not getting in trouble for yelling again.”

“Whatever” Jongin continues to pouts. 

“Just make sure you get him to fall for you when you go out for dinner” Sehun says “Talk about me the least amount possible.”

“But the point is to talk about you” Jongin says, not catching on. 

“Who cares, just pretend it’s a date and if he wants to talk about me then tell a story about both of us that makes you look good” Sehun says, still a little frustrated. 

“I don’t really want to think about this right now” Jongin says looking down at his desk “Can we just finish so I don’t have to think about my problems.”

“Sure-“ Sehun is interrupted by the bell. 

“Ugh” Jongin slumps on his desk. Apparently, the universe hates him. 

“Well enjoy watching Kyungsoo kiss Joy” Sehun laughs like the awful friend he is. 

“Fuck off” Jongin sighs putting his stuff away. 

The boys leave the classroom and Jongin heads straight to his locker. He’d honestly like to get through this practice as quickly as possible. Yes, Kyungsoo will be there and that’s nice but if they’re just doing their performance then it’s not that fun.

He debates whether he should wait for Kyungsoo to come see him by his locker so they can walk together but Kyungsoo might not even do that so Jongin just walks to the classroom alone and sits. He didn’t bring his script because he has the majority of his lines memorized and he thought they weren’t supposed to use their scripts but it seems like everyone brought theirs.

Kyungsoo walks in the room immediately sending Jongin a smile before sitting beside him. 

“Were we supposed to bring our scripts?” Jongin asks nervously. 

“Only if you still need it” Kyungsoo smirks “Looks like we’ve been practicing a little more than everyone else.”

“I hope I can redeem myself” Jongin says nervously, fiddling with the end of his sweater “Last time was embarrassing.”

“They’ll be blown away trust me” Kyungsoo smiles. 

“Alright we’ll be starting soon” Mr. Lee says standing up “Remember we’re doing our dress rehearsal next week so you will all need your lines memorized by then but for today you can consult the script.”

The practice goes rather smoothly, Jongin remembers all his lines and says them exactly the same way he did while practicing with Kyungsoo. They all get up and stand in the middle of the circle when it’s their scene to practice the physical aspects of the scenes. It feels a little weird because he’s never done the scene with as many people like this but he does know what to do so it works out fine. He can tell the other students are surprised by his performance and it’s a bit of an ego boost. 

Everything was going really well until the dreaded kiss scene. Joy and Kyungsoo are standing really close during the whole scene because of course, they are until it’s finally their turn to share their “moment”. 

“I have to go back to Asgard but I give you my word” Kyungsoo says before pausing dramatically while he hooks his arm around Joy’s waist “I will return for you.”

Jongin squirms a little in his seat, he’s not even in this scene but he still has to be in the room and it’s uncomfortable for him. He knows Kyungsoo is just acting but that doesn’t change how it affects Jongin to watch this scene unfold in front of him. 

“Deal?” Kyungsoo asks before Joy wraps her hand around the back of his head and pulls him in suddenly for a passionate kiss. 

Jongin doesn’t know what to do. Is watching weird? Is looking away even weirder? All he knows is he absolutely doesn’t like seeing Kyungsoo kissing someone else. Not that he’s jealous (he is) and he’s not mad at Joy or anything, she’s just playing a part, but that doesn’t mean Jongin has to enjoy what he’s seeing. 

“Save some for the show!” Miss Hirai interrupts as their kiss seems to get a little heated. 

“Deal” Joy smiles pulling away still in character. 

“And scene, great work” Mrs. Bae claps. 

Kyungsoo wipes his lips with his sleeve before sitting back down beside Jongin. 

“Her lipgloss is unnecessarily sticky” Kyungsoo says casually and Jongin cringes a bit thinking that he really didn’t need to know that “tastes weird too.”

“Oh” Jongin says, having no idea what he’s supposed to say to that “that kiss seemed a little...”

“Yeah that’s why I was worried about that scene but you’ve watched the movie, right?” Kyungsoo asks “We weren’t even doing it with the right intensity.”

“Oh right yeah” Jongin nods. 

“Well I only have to do it a couple more times, so at least there’s that” Kyungsoo says sounding like he really didn’t enjoy it even though Jongin could swear- “If Sehun comes to the play maybe warn him about that. I wouldn’t want him getting the wrong idea, I don’t like kissing Joy. I’m just a committed actor.”

Jongin’s heart rate and breathing speed up as Kyungsoo looks deep into his eyes. He’s not sure why Kyungsoo is looking at him like that, but he can tell Kyungsoo is serious about not enjoying kissing Joy. 

“Y-yeah I’ll tell him” Jongin says looking a little scared. 

“And Loki enters” Mrs. Bae narrates and Jongin gets up. 

~=+•+=~

Jongin gets out of the shower and gets dressed before sitting on his bed and staring at the ceiling. It’s Friday night and he’s going out with Kyungsoo. Normally that would be like a dream come true but he was too stupid to confess his own feelings so now he has to go help set up Kyungsoo with his best friend. Great. Just what he wanted. 

“Jongin honey your friend is at the door!” His mom yells. 

Jongin gets off his bed and runs down the stairs quickly and he’s greeted by one of his biggest fears, his brother talking to Kyungsoo. 

“So you’re the guy who drove Jongin home huh?” Jongdae smirks “and now you’re going out to dinner with him.”

“We’re friends, you go out with Minseok” Jongin says angrily to his brother “and I don’t bother you two.”

“I’ve seen you before” Jongdae says ignoring his brother “Kyungsoo right? You sang at the talent show.”

“Uh yeah” Kyungsoo blushes a bit “obviously not at well as you did.”

“With a little practice, you’ll be just as good” Jongdae smiles “so I’m sure you’ll win next year when I graduate.”

“He should have won” Jongin mumbles but no one hears him. 

“That is unless Jonginnie here enters with a dance” Jongdae says wrapping his arm around his little brother “he’s really good, have you ever seen him dance?”

“I have” Kyungsoo nods politely. 

“You danced for him?” Jongdae says raising an eyebrow at Jongin “so that’s why you had grass stains on your jeans. See I thought-“

“Ok let’s just go” Jongin says, pulling himself away from his brother. 

“Have fun!” Jongdae yells as Jongin pulls Kyungsoo out of the house. 

“Sorry about him” Jongin apologizes “he likes to bug me.”

“I get it my sister was exactly like that before she moved out for college” Kyungsoo laughs “now that she doesn’t live with us though she’s nicer.”

“I mean he’s nice” Jongin says, opening the passenger car door of Kyungsoo’s parents’ car. “When it’s something important he’s always there for me, always goes to my recitals and stuff. It’s just the rest of the time he’s kinda loud and annoying.”

“Sounds like a pretty typical older sibling” Kyungsoo smiles turning the car on. 

“Yeah” Jongin smiles back. 

Kyungsoo and Jongin get into Kyungsoo’s car and drive to the restaurant. It’s not a very long drive and they probably could have walked but Jongin is still a little tired from dance practice.

They listen to Kyungsoo’s music on the way there, which Kyungsoo sings along to and Jongin tries very much not to spontaneously combust on the spot. By the time they get to the restaurant Jongin can feel the heat on his cheeks. 

“Was it too hot?” Kyungsoo asks sincerely, obviously talking about Jongin’s cheeks “You should have told me I could have turned the AC on.”

“It’s fine I like being warm” Jongin lies dumbly. 

“Ok in that case I guess it’s fine.” Kyungsoo smiles brightly and Jongin can feel his cheeks blushing again. Why does Kyungsoo have such a strong effect on him?

“It’s probably also just cause I was dancing” Jongin lies badly “um let’s just go in.” 

“Sure” Kyungsoo continues to smile. 

They walk into the restaurant and Kyungsoo apparently had a reservation so they are brought to their table right away without needing to wait. The waiter drops off the menus and Jongin mentally prepares himself. He’s supposed to talk about Sehun but in a way that makes him look good. How is he supposed to do that? Like just add himself into every conversation or-

“...on the menu?” Kyungsoo asks and Jongin realizes he missed the start of that question. 

“What?” Jongin asks dumbly. 

“Is there anything on the menu you like?” Kyungsoo asks, smiling a bit seeing how nervous Jongin is. 

“Uhhh the chicken looks good” Jongin answers, scanning the menu “Sehun likes sushi!”

Jongin's not sure he should have said that but he can’t take it back now. 

“Ok” Kyungsoo says simply “I would love steak but not if I’m paying. I agree the chicken looks good, the seasoning sounds interesting.”

“You’re paying?” Jongin asks. 

“Well I invited you out, it seems fair” Kyungsoo smiles “plus I’m older.”

“Only a year” Jongin pouts slightly. 

If Kyungsoo’s paying, does that make this a date? No right? He’s here to talk about Sehun, clearly, this isn’t a date. 

“Have you ever thought of doing musicals?” Kyungsoo asks putting the menu down “I mean you’re a great dancer and now a pretty great actor too so I feel like you’re well suited for a musical.”

“Our school is doing a musical?” Jongin asks. 

“No it’s extracurricular, the audition isn’t even for a few months but I thought maybe we could do it together” Kyungsoo says with a slight smile “it would be my first musical too so I thought it might help to have someone I know there with me.”

“Oh” Jongin smiles hes so flattered Kyungsoo asked him “I’ll think about it.”

“You could help me learn some choreography and with the way your brother sings I’m sure you’re a pretty good singer but I could help you a bit too.” Kyungsoo continues. 

“I mean I’m not bad...” Jongin says trying to be modest “It sounds like fun, we could do that.”

Throughout dinner Jongin completely forgets he’s supposed to be talking about Sehun. Sehun comes up a few times, it’s only natural since he’s Jongin’s best friend and has been since they were in diapers but Kyungsoo never acts all that interested. He asks a few questions like when they met and things like that but nothing purely about Sehun. Jongin starts to wonder if Kyungsoo even wants to get to know Sehun. Maybe he’ll just end up letting him down easy or something. Jongin smiles at that thought. 

“I know it’s getting a little late but would you mind if we went to the mall together?” Kyungsoo says after he’s paid the bill “I was thinking of buying a little gift for Sehun.”

“Oh” Jongin says a little surprised, of course, he wants to spend more time with Kyungsoo but the fact Kyungsoo hasn’t given up on Sehun is a little upsetting “Yeah of course let’s go.” 

They get in the car and drive to the nearby mall. Kyungsoo finds a good parking spot and they get out and walk towards the mall entrance. 

“So what do you think I should get?” Kyungsoo asks “would flowers work?”

“Uhh” Jongin says trying to think of an excuse to drag this out for as long as possible “he kinda likes a lot of stuff so maybe we should shop around and I’ll see if there’s something he’d really like.”

“What about in here?” Kyungsoo asks, pointing to a shop with a variety of gifts and weird little trinkets. 

“Yeah that’s a good start” Jongin nods before walking in the store. 

Walking in the store is a little overwhelming. The smell is intense and Jongin suspects it’s because of the huge self of scented candles. There’s also a large wall of decor items and Jongin’s eyes are drawn all over the store. So many little fountains and twinkling lights. 

“Jongin look” Kyungsoo says, walking towards a stack of little funko pop! figurines “Thor and Loki.”

“Weird they don’t have anyone else from the movie” Jongin says looking at the little figurines. 

“Not really, they’re the main characters” Kyungsoo says “Everyone knows Thor and Loki but the other characters aren’t as popular.”

“We should take a selfie with them” Jongin suggests. 

“Good idea” Kyungsoo smiles. 

Jongin takes his phone out and stands right beside the Loki figurine and Kyungsoo stands beside Thor. They both smile looking at the phone and Jongin takes the picture. 

“It looks great” Jongin smiles knowing this will be his new home screen. He finally has a selfie with Kyungsoo!

“I don’t think Sehun would want one of these though right?” Kyungsoo asks. 

“Yeah no” Jongin answers “he doesn’t really collect things.”

“Anything in here look nice?” Kyungsoo asks. 

“Hmm” Jongin says looking around “I mean I like teddy bears but Sehun doesn’t really care about them...”

“Does he like anything?” Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow “You said he likes lots of stuff but you can’t find anything in here?”

“This just isn’t really his type of store I guess” Jongin says quickly “he likes uhh... clothes. Jackets and stuff.”

“Maybe I should just get him a gift card then” Kyungsoo laughs “I’ve taken enough of your time, I should take you home. I can pick something up later.”

“Yeah right” Jongin says, sinking a little. Kyungsoo will buy a gift for Sehun later. Without Jongin, because Jongin is only here to help Kyungsoo get to know Sehun. Nothing else. 

They leave the store and Kyungsoo drives Jongin to his house. 

“This was fun” Kyungsoo says “maybe we could do something like this again.”

“Yeah” Jongin says putting on a smile even though he hasn’t really felt happy since he came to terms with the fact Kyungsoo’s just with him right now because Jongin is doing him a favour “well good night.”

“Good Night Jongin” Kyungsoo smiles. 

Jongin walks to his door alone and unlocks it. He looks back at Kyungsoo who's still in his car but once he opens the door Kyungsoo starts to pull out of his driveway. 

Jongin closes the door and sits down beside it. 

“Hey what’s up Nini” Jongdae says looking at Jongin from the couch in the living room “you didn’t have fun on your date?”

“It wasn’t a date” Jongin says softly. 

“I’m sorry I forgot how kids are with labels” Jongdae says walking towards Jongin. 

“It’s not that” Jongin says not looking up at his brother “I wish it was a date but I messed it all up and now he thinks Sehun likes him and-“

“Hey shh” Jongdae says putting a hand on Jongin’s shoulder “let’s go somewhere more comfortable.”

Jongin nods and gets off the floor. They end up going to Jongin’s room because he absolutely doesn’t want his parents hearing about his pitiful love life. Jongin tells Jongdae the whole story. By the end, Jongin is fighting back tears and Jongdae is holding onto him tightly to comfort him. 

“Well listen there’s no way Sehun is going to date him so there’s at least that.” Jongdae says softly “All you have to do is tell him the truth.”

“I can’t” Jongin says he voice cracking a bit “I can’t tell him I like him.”

“You’ll at least have to tell him Sehun isn’t interested” Jongdae replies “I know it’s scary Jongin but you really don’t give yourself enough credit. Why wouldn’t Kyungsoo want to date you?”

“Because I’m in the friend zone?” Jongin answers. 

“Then don’t be” Jongdae answers “you’re only in the friend zone as long as you don’t say anything. Listen, you’re smart and nice and talent and Kyungsoo clearly likes you as a person so just give him a chance to like you.”

“Scary” Jongin mutters. 

“Yeah but that’s ok” Jongdae smiles “who knew you were still such a baby.” 

“Hey, I’m sad don’t mock me” Jongin pouts. 

“And yet that helped you stop moping” Jongdae smiles again “I mean it Jongin, you should just tell him how you feel. I really don’t think it’ll go badly.”

“I’ll try” Jongin nods “now get out of my room, I'm tired.”

“Yeah alright” Jongdae laughs “night bro” 

“Yeah good night” Jongin nods and Jongdae walks out “and Jongdae?”

“Yeah?” Jongdae says turning around. 

“Thanks...” Jongin says awkwardly “for everything.”

“Any time” Jongdae smiles sincerely. 

~=+•+=~

Sooner than Jongin realizes the day of the play comes. Jongin and Kyungsoo do keep practicing alone sometimes but with Jongin knowing all his lines, most of the time they meet up in larger groups with the other actors to practice the group scenes. Much to Jongin’s relief Joy and Kyungsoo never kiss when they’re just practicing, except during the dress rehearsal.

Even when they’re practicing in a large group, Kyungsoo usually ends up driving Jongin home and Jongin couldn’t be happier. Kyungsoo’s still really Jongin’s only friend in the play-group so Kyungsoo acting close with him is comforting. Jongin knows he should tell Kyungsoo that Sehun isn’t the one with a crush on Kyungsoo but he just can’t bring himself to do it. What if Kyungsoo stops being his friend? Or acts distant with him? 

Getting ready for the play is a little more hectic than Jongin had expected. He thought it would be like the dress rehearsal where everyone calmly got ready but no. Everyone’s just running around trying to get ready. Some people are repeating their lines in the corner alone, meanwhile, Jongin is just fiddling with the ends of his costume jacket waiting for Kyungsoo to be done putting on his wig and fake beard. 

A couple of minutes before they’re ready to start the teachers call everyone into a small room backstage for one last little talk before it starts. 

“Ok everyone, you’ve all worked really hard for this” Miss Hirai says to the group “I know it can be nerve-racking but just do your best and have fun because at the end of the day that’s why we’re all here. To enjoy acting.”

“Yes, that’s why I’m here” Jongin whispers to himself. 

“Alright, places everyone we’re starting in a minute!” Mrs. Bae yells. 

“Sehun’s here right?” Kyungsoo asks as everyone runs to wherever they are supposed to go. 

“Yeah, front row” Jongin nods feeling a little hurt seeing Kyungsoo so interested in Sehun. 

“Great I haven’t really had the opportunity to talk to him since he keeps seeming to run away from me or something” Kyungsoo says smiling lightly “I’ll talk to him after the show.”

“Oh well I don’t know if that’s a good-“ Jongin says but he’s cut off. 

“Kyungsoo! Jongin! Get to your places!” Miss Hirai yells seeing the two talking. 

Once the play starts, Jongin is pretty occupied with playing his part so he doesn’t think of much else. That is until Thor lands on earth and Jongin isn’t really part of it. He just sits back stage and waits for his turn to get back on stage. 

“Jongin right?” Mark says sitting beside Jongin. 

“Yeah” Jongin nods. 

“It’s kind of boring waiting to get back on stage isn’t it?” Mark says starting up a conversation “I wish we could just run out to the crowd to at least watch while we wait but that might be tricky cause we do have a short scene in a couple minutes.”

“Right” Jongin says, feeling a little uncomfortable. 

“You’re pretty close with Kyungsoo aren’t you?” Mark asks again trying to get Jongin’s attention. 

“Well I don’t know about that” Jongin smiles pitifully a bit “we’re friends I guess, he helped me with my acting and so we hang out sometimes.”

“So the play is the first time you guys started talking?” Mark asks. 

“Well-“ Jongin says wanting to bring up the pen thing but decides against it “Yeah just through the play.”

“That’s crazy” Mark smiles widely “everyone thought you must be like childhood friends.”

“Why?” Jongin asks, confused. 

“I don’t know if you noticed but Kyungsoo isn’t the most social person” Mark says as if it’s obvious “took us years to get him to talk to us outside of the preplanned meetings.”

“He’s always been friendly with me” Jongin says, even more confused. 

“Wonder what that means” Mark smirks getting up off the bench. 

“What?” Jongin asks, watching Mark walking away “Mark, what!”

“I have to get my beard fixed up” Mark lies with a perfectly glued beard on his face. 

Jongin doesn’t get much of a chance to think about what Mark said before he’s back on stage and preoccupied with his lines and acting. 

Rather quickly the play concludes and luckily Jongin doesn’t even watch the kiss scene again because Loki isn’t on stage at that point. Everything went really well though. There was one hiccup with one of Joy’s lines but Kyungsoo made it seem intentional. Overall it went really well which is something Jongin never would have predicted a month ago when he got his role. 

Everyone bows on stage and then Kyungsoo smiles at Jongin before they all head backstage to get changed. Jongin gets changed pretty quickly but getting the gel out of his hair is harder than he thought it would be and he still has a bit when he goes to meet up with Sehun. Only Sehun isn’t alone, Kyungsoo is already talking to him. Sehun’s smiling with a bouquet of flowers and Kyungsoo is holding a gift bag in his hand. Jongin runs over quickly. 

“Wait!” Jongin yells trying to salvage any respect Kyungsoo might have for him “I lied! Sehun doesn’t have a crush on you! I-I do.”

Jongin looks intensely at Kyungsoo’s face for any signs of betrayal or hatred but all he sees his Kyungsoo’s signature heart-shaped smile. 

“I know” Kyungsoo says pleasantly “I was just telling Sehun about that.”

“I-? What?” Jongin asks, looking at an also smiley Sehun. 

“I’ll just leave you two alone” Sehun smiles before handing the flowers to Jongin “great performance, by the way, I knew you could do it Nini!”

“Nini?” Kyungsoo asks with a smile “I’m stealing that.”

“You’re- but Sehun? What?” Jongin says, his brain still unable to keep up. 

“I knew you about your crush” Kyungsoo says, still smiling “I noticed a certain boy seemingly always in the crowd of every single performance. It was cute, like my own little personal cheerleader but when you signed up for the play I knew I’d want to get to know you better.” 

“So you?” Jongin asks, smiling a bit now. 

“I like you too, yeah” Kyungsoo laughs with that deep chuckle that makes Jongin’s heart swell “Why do you think I took you on a date?” 

“But that was for-“ Jongin says but he’s interrupted by Kyungsoo cutely shaking his head no “that was a date?” 

“Should I be more straightforward on our second date?” Kyungsoo says using his empty hand to take Jongin’s hand in his. 

“I’m better with straightforwardness” Jongin smiles. 

“I’ve noticed” Kyungsoo smiles before holding up the little gift bag “Do you want to open this now?”

“What is it?” Jongin excitedly asks and letting his hand fall out of Kyungsoo’s to open it “Thor and Loki funko pop figurines?”

“I thought you might like a teddy bear better but you liked those at the store too and I thought it would be a good way of remembering this” Kyungsoo explains “I also thought it would be cute if we had matching figurines.”

“Like I’m your Loki and you’re my Thor?” Jongin smiles before realizing what he said “Wait no- I swear I don’t ship-“

Kyungsoo cuts him off with a quick kiss but Jongin’s already committing the way Kyungsoo’s soft full lips feel into his memory so he’ll never forget. 

“I know you don’t” Kyungsoo smiles “you need to stop freaking out all the time. I’m not going to judge you, I like you for who you are. As awkward as that might be sometimes.”

“Well, that’s good to know I guess” Jongin smiles widely just at the words “I like you” coming from Kyungsoo. 

“Now we should probably go talk to Sehun, we’re kind of just making him wait outside” Kyungsoo laughs a little. 

“Oh shit you’re right” 

The end.


End file.
